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White House summons U.S. general to explain comments

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan was
fighting for his job Tuesday after being summoned to Washington to
explain his extraordinary complaints about President Barack Obama
and his colleagues.

Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs pointedly declined to say
Gen. Stanley McChrystal's job was safe. Defense Secretary Robert
Gates said the commander's comments were "distractions" to the
war in Afghanistan.

McChrystal, who publicly apologized Tuesday for using "poor
judgment" in an interview in Rolling Stone magazine, has been
ordered to appear at the White House on Wednesday.

He'll be expected to explain his comments to the president and
Pentagon officials, officials said. Military leaders rarely
challenge their commander in chief publicly and when they do,
consequences tend to go beyond a scolding.

A top military official in Afghanistan told The Associated Press
that McChrystal hasn't been told whether he will be allowed to keep
his job. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe
internal discussions between Washington and the general's office in
Kabul.

McChrystal spent Tuesday calling several of those mentioned in
the article to apologize, officials said, including Gates and
Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy to Pakistan.

Gates issued a statement saying McChrystal made "a significant
mistake" and used poor judgment in his remarks to a magazine
reporter.

"We are fighting a war against al-Qaida and its extremist
allies, who directly threaten the United States, Afghanistan, and
our friends and allies around the world," Gates said. "Going
forward, we must pursue this mission with a unity of purpose. Our
troops and coalition partners are making extraordinary sacrifices
on behalf of our security, and our singular focus must be on
supporting them and succeeding in Afghanistan without such
distractions."

Holbrooke's office said in a terse two-line statement that
McChrystal had called him in Kabul "to apologize for this story
and accept full responsibility for it." It said Holbrooke "values
his close and productive relationship with General McChrystal."

A spokesman said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike
Mullen told McChrystal of his "deep disappointment" over the
article.

But in Kabul, President Hamid Karzai issued a statement calling
McChrystal the "best commander" of the war. Karzai spokesman
Waheed Omar said Karzai hopes that Obama doesn't decide to replace
him.

In the article, McChrystal complains that Obama handed him "an
unsellable position" on the war, back when the commander was
pressing for more troops than the administration was then prepared
to send. "I found that time painful," he said.

McChrystal also said he was "betrayed" by Ambassador Karl
Eikenberry, the man the White House chose to be his diplomatic
partner in Afghanistan. He accused Eikenberry of raising doubts
about the reliability of Afghan President Hamid Karzai only to give
himself cover in case the U.S. effort failed.

"Here's one that covers his flank for the history books,"
McChrystal told the magazine. "Now, if we fail, they can say 'I
told you so."'

Obama appointed McChrystal to lead the Afghan war in May 2009.

In Kabul on Tuesday, McChrystal issued a statement saying: "I
have enormous respect and admiration for President Obama and his
national security team, and for the civilian leaders and troops
fighting this war and I remain committed to ensuring its successful
outcome."

"I extend my sincerest apology for this profile," the
statement said. "It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and
should never have happened."

Mullen talked with McChrystal about the article Monday night,
Capt. John Kirby, Mullen's spokesman said. In a 10-minute
conversation, the chairman "expressed his deep disappointment in
the piece and the comments" in it, Kirby said.

The White House said it planned to release a full list of
attendees at Wednesday's meeting. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Gates are among those who regularly attend the
Situation Room meetings in person, with McChrystal and U.S.
Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry participating via secure
video teleconference.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chairman of Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, called for all involved to "stay cool and calm" and
not the let situation interfere with the mission in Afghanistan.

He said he had "enormous respect" for the general and had
spoken to McChrystal on Tuesday morning and "emphasized to him
that I think, obviously, those are comments that he is going to
have to deal with with respect to the commander in chief, the vice
president and his national security staff."

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Associated Press Writers Pauline Jelinek and Matthew Lee in
Washington, and Deb Riechmann in Kabul contributed to this report.